Cartridges

The Atari ST cartridge port was a 40-pin edge connector located at the rear left of the computer, primarily used for ROM-based software, copy protection dongles, and hardware expansions. Unlike game consoles, the ST's cartridge port wasn’t widely used for gaming but was essential for fast-loading applications like HyperPaint and Replay 16. The port provided direct access to the system bus, allowing cartridges to execute code instantly without needing disk access. Some third-party expansions, such as MIDI interfaces and sound samplers, also utilized it. Despite its potential, the cartridge format never became a mainstream software distribution method on the ST.